This invention concerns a closure for a container, receiver, or the like. As used herein, the word "container" includes any type of receptacle or receiver.
The invention particularly concerns a one piece closure of resinous plastic which can be operated with one hand to close containers of fluid and pasty materials.
One-hand-operable tipping-lever closures are well known (see WO 81/00995) in which structurally-separate tipping (or pivotal) levers are held on a capping part to be pivotal in a snap-like manner. In one position such a tipping lever closes a passage opening in the capping part while in another position the lever opens the passage opening so that a fluid flow from a container's interior to outside atmosphere is allowed. A substantial disadvantage of this type of closure is the necessity of producing a plurality of separate parts which must be assembled in a specialized assembling procedure. It is also known (German Gebrauchsmuster DE-V-80 24 272) to attach a tipping lever as one piece with a capping part via a film-like hinge, with which part of a flow path to the outside, through a hose-like, bendable, wall extending between the tipping lever and the interior of the container is sealed. Although this closure is made as one piece, difficulties still arise in trying to reliably seal a passage of the tipping lever in a closed position, and also the hose-like wall has limitations relative to a choice of an open position for the tipping lever in that it is consistantly oriented in the direction of a middle axis of the closure which, for manipulation of particular fluids, or medians, is undesirable. It is further known (German DE-U-88 15 673) to arrange a tipping lever of a multiple-part closure to be pivotal in a plane substantially radial to a middle axis so that contents of a container can be poured out from a side thereof in the manner of a watering can. In addition to the disadvantage that manufacturing such a closure is difficult, other problems arise when this closure is to be manipulated with one hand. Finally, a one piece, one-hand-operable, closure is known (AT-PS-376 186) in which a sealing cone and a pour spout are formed on a bendable floor wall of a capping part for engaging a mouth opening of a container such that an exterior force can be applied to the sealing cone and the pour spout to temporarily move the sealing cone out of a sealing relationship with the mouth opening of the container against a return force of the floor wall so that communication of the container interior with a passage of the pour spout comes into being. The open position of the pour spout is, therefore, only held so long as the outside force is applied, which, with regard to manipulation of the closure, can cause problems when the container contents is to be dispensed, for example, on difficult to reach areas and/or where hygiene must be taken into consideration. Further, the pour spout tends to substantially stay in the open position as well as in the closed position, when it is moved there, because the flexibility of the floor wall allows only a small pivoting of the pour spout in response to force applied thereto, otherwise a firm seating of the capping part on the container would be endangered.
It is an object of the invention to provide a one piece, one-hand container of resinous plastic for closing fluid or paste containers which can be economically produced and which provides improved functionality as well as comfort in operation.